Of Unknown Origin: A Memoir [Hardcover]

What a great read! Debra Holtz bares her soul in this riveting account of her search for hr biological parents. Although slow to start, once she begins the search in earnest I couldn't put the book down!

The nitty gritty details are fascinating, and the shady Mob-associated parts like her Chicago records being "lost", then discovering that they were in a mysterious warehouse fire, drive the story along.

The personal details are also memorable - Debra Holtz really "tells all" and lets the reader know just how it felt to dig so far under the surface of buried family history. She comes to terms with her past at the end in a truly moving scene. Although a real story, this would make a great movie! I hope someone in Hollywood snaps it up!

Dear Debra Holtz, I had a wonderful afternoon and evening reaing "Of Unknown Origin" and have such admiration for your ability to write so well and even more: to tell a story that is riveting.

I'm an adoptive mother, and I often wonder who has the more wounded heart, we whose moms were not happy or we whose children are adopted. I have all the information on my daughter's biological mom, just because I feared she would be hard to find. I keep a yearly check on her. My daughter at 24 is going through an oddly diffucut time. Odd, because now when it's so late, she is furious at me for reasons no one can discern. I was a happy mom and we were always close. I keep wondering if it is the adoption, which she, like you, has always known about.

I'm, as with most adoptive moms these days, older, Jewish and the birthmom is Catholic and sounds lovely if unusual. My daugther is not ready to search but when she does, I have just about every bit of (quite hidden) information except for info on the birth dad.

But I digress mainly to tell you why I bought your book and why it so fascinated me. I agree with another poster here who said that reunions are so often fraught and not the happy togetherness so many adoptees wish for and even: expect. I have a friend who had a quite similar experience to yours, rejection not outright but eventually. I had hoped to be around to make sure my daughter's search, had it ended poorly, would be our joint sorrow. At this point, her rage at me is inexplicable as she turned out to be such a lovely and smart young woman. I often wonder if it is the adoption she doesn't yet want to learn about. Your book gave me so much to think about.

To end: Even if I were not a part of the adoption triad, I would have related to this book due to the excellent writing, the themes that are universal and the cast of characters all of whom are well-delineated.

Congratuations and anyone looking for a good read that will entrance you, buy this book. I never use my real name in reviewing but I would like to find you on the internet and write you directly, dear auther, Debra. FIVE STARS

I found this book so exciting that I had to stay up all night to finish it. Fiction could have not created a more complex set of characters than Debra Holtz's family, both adopted and genetic. The sense of place and time from her childhood Chicago to her adult California is terrific. I was facinated by the tremendous inner resources that Holtz developed to reconcile her personal story. Her writing is wonderful. The book is gripping.